Separable fastener



A. F. JOHNSON SEPARABLE FASTENER Nov. 6, 1928.

Filed Deo. 20, 1924 Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

`UNITED- s-TAT-Es PATENT- o-Price.

ALFRED F. JOHNSON, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSTTSQASSIGNOR TO CARR FASTENER COMPANY, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSA()HUSE'IIS,V A CORFORATIOIT OF MAINE. i

SEPARABLE FASTENER.

Application Vled December 20, 1924. Serial No. 757,150.

This invention laims to provide improve ments in separable fasteners, primarily though not exclusively for use as three-side lock fasteners. l

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred and a modified A.form of my invention p Figure l is a front elevation of the prefer-red form of fastener;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the'line 2-,2 of Fig. l, being partly in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the preferred form of socket;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation-of ythe resilient jaw-presenting member;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the preferred form of socket; p Y Fig. 6 is a front'elevation of the modified form of socket; l

Fig, 7 isa rear elevation of the-modified forin ofresilient jaw-presenting member and Fig.. S is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6. Referring to thedrawings, I have shown a three-side lock fastener including a socket which is of a. simple, inexpensive and durable construction, pressed fromsheet metal and presenting spring jaw' means for engagement with the neck kof the stud.

Referring to the preferred formof my invention as illustrated inFigs. 1 through 5, I have shown theusual stud, including a head l, neck 2, shank 3 and attaching screw 4, secured to a support 5, which may be the'body of an automobile or other like rigid support. 35 The preferred form of socket is secured to a curtain `6 of an automobile and comprises a stud-receiving or'front plate 7 and an attaching or back' plate 8 secured to op-v posite sides of the curtain 6 by a plurality of attaching prongs 9 struck up from the front plate 7. Thesey prongs pass through the curtain 6 and then through slots in the back plate, and are thereafter clinched inwardly and downwardly against the face of the` back plate 8. The curtain is not squeezed tightly'between the frontand back y pla-tes, as is the usual piactice, aiid the slots in the back plate are substantially large to permit free movement of the prongs relative to the back plate 8 for purposes more fully hereinafter described. u

The. stud-receiving or front plate 7 is formed to present (Fig. l) a continuous ringlike member, U-shaped in crosssection with the edges thereof Abent under the ring-like part l() to provideasmooth surface for con- Isis` tact with the curtain 6. This ring-like por-r tion, .inthe socket illustrated, is yieldable laterally whenV the socket is engaged with or disengaged from a stud, as will hereinafter appear. The front Yplate also 'presents a paii of`neck-engagi1ig ]aws ll, which extend from the ring-like portion of the front plate to` i ward the center of the front plate? .where they form a stud-receiving aperture 12'for reception of the head of the stud.

The jaws 11 cover a relatively large area .adjacent the aperture in the curtain 6,so that little o'r no ragged edge of the curtain is eX *posed at the center of the front plate even` after the aperture has been enlarged by wear;

The'jaws also presentrounded neck-engag-- ing portions 13 for smooth vengagement with the neck of thejstud. Y v

The backvplate 8 presentsan aperture 14 whicliifits relativelyV close to stud at three sides thereof to'prevent tipping thesliank of the of the sockety relative to the stud in three directions andis extended at the fourth side to permit relative tipping movement betweenl the socket rand the study inV a predetermined direction only. l

.The back plate Ais lalso' provided with extended bearing'surfacein the form of a` lip l5 formedfrcninietal pressed out` fromthe back platetov formthe aperture 14 therein, and this lip extends'ffrom the periphery of thel apertureat the three' sides thereof which closely embrace the shank of the. stud'.

Engagement of the socket Awith'the stud is effected by pressing the 'socket over the'head ofthe stud which passes through the aper-r ture in the back plate, curtain and front plate, so that the neck-engaging jaws llare spread laterally with the ring-like portion 1Q to permit passage'of the head therebetween to permit engagement 'with theneck of the stud, as illust-rated in Fig'. 2. During engagement of the socketwith the stud,l the ring-like portion of the front plate contracts on ra dia metrical vertical line as viewed in Fig. '1,' and expands on aj horizontal diametrical line,'or in other words the socket yields laterally as above stated thereby to enlarge the stud-re- 12 to permit passage of the ceivingv aperture During enhead of the .stud therethrough.

gagement of the stud with the socket, the attaching prongs 9 shift freely relative to the back plate 8 thereby to permit free expansion and contraction of the front plate without interference between the prongs and the back plate. The shiftable movement of the lattaching prongs 9 is notA interfered with bythe curtain because the curtain is suiiiciently flexible to permit the prongs 9 to shift laterally relative thereto. j Y

l/Vhen the socket is engaged with the stud, it is locked therewith against separation by lateral strain because the lip 15 engages three sides of the shank 3 of the stud and prevents expansion of the front plate. The socket is also locked with the stud against separation by tipping action atbotli sides of the stud or above the stud adjacent the body of the ciir tain alsobecause of the lip 15 which closely embraces the shank of the stud so that it engages therewith when any outward strain is exerted upon the socket from the above-mentioned three sides thereof.

The socket may be tipped out of engagement with the stud by a slight pull on the lower or free edge of the curtain, because the elongated aperture in the back plate allows the socket to tip witl'iout the back plate en-l gaging the shank of the stud as it does when strain is exerted at the other three sides of the curtain. Thus the stud-receiving aperture V12 in the front plate is enlarged and the neck# engaging jaws 11 pass over the headof the stud thereby permitting separation of the socket from the stud. l

The modified form ofV socket, as illustrated in Figs. .6 through 8, includes a front plate 16 and a back plate 17, which are secured to the socket-carrying fabric in substantially the same manner as the front and `back plates of the preferred form of socket. V

The only difference betweenthe preferred g forni and the modified form ofsocket is the construction of the front plate 16. lnthis instance, the neck-engaging jaws 18 are located toward the top `of the socket and the laterally yieldable ring-like portion 19 as illustrated, extends from one jaw to the other in a ring-like manner although not surrounding the jaws as in the preferred form of my invention.

lWhen the head of a stud is forced between i the jaws 18 in this type of socket construction,

the bend occurs at a point 2O at the lowermost point of the ring-like portion 19 and extends Y upwardly toward both jaws, thus permitting the jaws to spread and permit passage therebetween of the head of the stud.

The downwardly projecting rin g-like portion 19 also presents a favorable leverage to aid in disengaging the stud from the socket when a slight outward pullis exerted upon the lower edge of the socket-carrying fabric 8.A

W'hilel have shown and described a preferred and a modified form of my invention, it

will be understood that my invention is best closely embracing the shank of a stud at three sidesto oppose relative tipping movement between `the stud and socket at three sides thereof, while extended at the fourth side to permit separation of the stud and socket by relative tipping movement. f

2. A socket for a three-side lock fastener including a front plate and a` back plate secured to opposite sidesof a flexible carrying fabric, said back plate presenting an elongated stud-receiving aperture therethrough closely engaging three sides of the shank Vof a stud while permitting relative tipping move-` j ment between the stud and back plate at th fourth side, said front plate having an integral resilient peripheral portion and a plurality of laterally yieldable neck-engaging jaws integral with said resilient'` portion, said resilient peripheral portion being adapted toV flex laterally thereby to allow passage `of `the `head of a stud between said neck-engaging portions. i

j 3. A socketfor a three-side lock fastener including a. resilient aw member presenting a pair of jaws for engagement with a stud, a back plate presenting an elongated studie ceiving aperture, and a plurality of attaching prongs presented by said resilient jawpre senting member, said prongs passing through a socket-carrying fabricY and relatively large slots in said back plate and thereafter clinched preferably inwardly and downwardly to secure said back plate and resilient'jaw member to the fabricwhile permitting movement of said prongs relative to said back plate w ien the head of a stud passes between said jaws thereby causing said jaw member to flex.

4t. A socket for a three-side lockV fastener including a. front plate having a continuous peripheral ring-like portion, a pair of jaws enclosed by said ring-like portion and integral therewith, said jaws presenting reversely bent neck-engaging portions, a back plate present-V ing an elongated stud-receiving aperture sur# rounded by a wall for engagement .with three sides of the shank of a stud to prevent separationl of said socket and i.stud by Va tipping strain exerted at three sides thereof, and at,-

taching means for securing said front plate and back plate to a flexible carrying fabric, said attaching means and frontplate being movable relative to said back plate.

5. A Socket instaiiaaonfor a separati@ fas.-

gagediwith the other of said plates for securing said plates tofopposite sides'of the carrying medium, stud-engaging jaws presentedby one of said plates, a laterally yieldablep'ortion provided by one of said plates for operatively connecting said jaws and said attaching means to provide a yieldable attachment with the carrying medium and means provided by the plate with which the yprongs are engaged for permitting movement of the prongs relative thereto. f Y Y 6. In a socket for a separable fastener including a one-piece stud-engaging part having a continuous laterally yieldableouter peripheral portion, a stud-,engaging portion adapted to yield-With said peripheral portion and attaching prongs integral with said peripheral portion for securing said stud-engaging part to a carrying fabric, said attaching prongs being adapted to shift laterally with said peripheral portion in the general plane of the carrying fabric to permit eXpansion and contraction of Asaid stud-engaging portion when being engaged with or disengaged from a stud.

7. A socket for a separable Vfastener including a front plate presenting anintegral continuous resilient portion, a plurality of studengaging jaws integral with said resilient portion and a back plate presenting means for preventing separation of said socket from a studl except by tipping said socket in a predeteiinined direction,- said jaws being trans-` versely movable relative to said back plate to permit engagement and disengagement with a stud.

8'. A socket for a three-side lock fastener comprising two pressed metal parts secured to aflexible support, two or more stud-engaging c jaw portions integral with one of said parts `and located at and substantially surrounding a stud-receiving aperture, said jaw portions being yieldable in a Vplane transverse to the axisof the socket for enlargement of the studreceiving aperture to permit engagement with and disengagement from a stud, and means providing a wall surrounding an elongated aperture in the other part for coopera! tion of the stud to prevent separation of the socket from a stud when a stress is exerted atv three sides of the socket. v9. A three-side lock fastener comprising, in combination, a socket-engagiiig stud hav-` ing a head, a neck and a shank portion, a cooperating socket comprising a stud-receiving f plate and an attaching plate secured to oppo- -site sides of a socket-carrying medium', a

transversely yieldable outer wall portion presented by said stud-receiving plate and neckengaging means secured to said fwall and yieldabley therewith for engagement with-the neck of the stud, saidattaching plate presenting anV aperture surrounded by a wall closely embracingthe shank of the stud at threesides to prevent tipping separation of said fastener at three sides while being spaced from said shank at the fourth side toV permit tipping of said' socket-relative tosaid stud'fat one side for separation of the fastenerJ,Y Y

' 10. A fastenercomprising, in combination,

, a stud having a head and a neck, a socket comtion'carrying integral jaw means also later- Y ally yieldable with the distortable portion for resilient engagement with the neck of vsaid stud and attaching prongs'extending betweenV the two parts and securing them to the fastenj er-carrying medium, said attaching prongs being yieldable with the laterally distortable peripheral portion so as not tointerfere withl the action of the socket.

11. A fastener comprising, in combination,

a stud having a head and a neck, and a socket including two pieces for application to oppoj siteV sides of the socket-carrying fabric, one of said pieces presenting a distortable peripheral portion and stud-engaging me-ans about a stud-receiving aperture therein, and securing means holding said pieces in assembled relation on the'socket-carryingr fabric while y presenting clearances permitting resilient distortion of said peripheral portion during entrance and withdrawal of the stud.

. 12. A fastener comprising, in combination, a stud having ya head and a neck, and al socket including two pieces for application to opposite sides of. the socket-carrying fabric, one of said pieces presenting ladistoitable peripheral portion and stud-engaging means about a stud-receiving aperture therein, and securing means holding said pieces in assembled relation on the socket-carrying'fabric while presenting'clearances permitting resilient distortion Aof said peripheral portion dii-ring entrance and withdrawal of thestud, the other of saidpieces opposing relative tipping movement between studand socket by a separating strain exerted in at least one direction.`

'13. In a fastener socket a stud-engaging part having a continuous laterally yieldable outer peripheral portion presenting jaw portions'for engagement with the neckof a studv and a plurality of attaching prongs extending froin'said peripheral portion for securing said stud-'engaging part to a iexible carrying fabric, said jaw portions and said prongs be- .ing yieldable'with said outer peripheral portion in the general plane of thecarrying fabric to `permit engagement of the socket with through both plates and the carrying medium', i

and a plurality ol' stnd-engaging jaws formed integral with and presented hy' one' ot' said plates and arranged alioutsaid aperture, said jaws being located adjacent tothe opposite end of the aperture frein that end which the stud enters so that, when said stud and socket are engaged, the head of the stud will be located at the outer side of thes diet-,Carrying Y medium and means provided by one of said plates Vfor Cooperation with the stud when envi gaged Witlithe socket to lock the Jfastener against separation by stresses exerted at three sides. Y p f v 15. ik socket installation `tor a separable fastener including a carrying'inediuin, a studengagingl front plate, a hack plate, attaching ineans presented by one ot said plates and engaged With'the other of said plates for securing said plates to opposite sides oi' the carrying medium, one oi said plates having a laterally yieldable peripheral Wall portion U-sh'apedin cross-section and provided Vwith stud-engaging means at the inner Wall of the U, said VU-shaped portion and said attaching means being yieldable laterally to shift the stud-engaging means laterally to permit passage of the head of a stud between the studengaging means.

In testimony whereof, I have signediny name to this specificatie ALFRED FQ JOHNSON. 

